Chernobyl’s Alex Ferns Rumored to Be Cast in the Batman

Things are heating up when it comes to Matt Reeves’ The Batman. In recent days we’ve seen set photos and videos offering possible first looks at star Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, Colin Farrell’s Penguin, and even the Gotham Police in action. Another recent report indicates that Glasgow, Scotland is the filming location for Gotham City. Now, it’s rumored that the cast for the eagerly-anticipated film has gotten a bit larger as well with Chernobyl actor Alex Ferns coming on in an undisclosed role.

According to The Scottish Sun, Ferns, who played Soviet miner leader Andrei Glukhov in HBO’s Chernobyl, has signed on for a role in the film. The report is a bit light on details and offers no information about what role Ferns may be playing. That said, with the reportedly filming in Scotland and Ferns being a Scottish-based actor, it would make sense that the film might tap more “local” actors for various roles and Ferns could be considered a solid choice considering the actor won a BAFTA Scotland award for his role in Chernobyl.

As for filming on The Batman, according to the Daily Record, filming is expected to start in Scotland in February.

“The big-budget production will descend on the nation next month to shoot parts of the film on Glasgow’s streets,” the Daily Record writes. “Parts of the city will be made to look like Batman’s fictional home, giving residents a front-row seat for the movie. Filming will also be the first opportunity for eagle-eyed DC Comics fans to catch a glimpse of the new Batmobile. Shooting for the film has already begun in London and filming is expected to start in Glasgow in late February.”

They added the following quote from an unnamed source:

“Glasgow will be turned into Gotham City and, with the city’s architecture, it’s expected to look great in the new film,” they teased. “It will also be the first time for DC fans to see the new Batmobile so there will be lots of them prepared to stand in the rain hoping they can spot it. Anyone who sees the Batmobile around town will probably look twice.”

Reeves has characterized his take on the character as a “very point of view noir-driven definitive Batman story in which he is investigating a particular case and that takes us out into the world of Gotham.” Reeves earlier clarified his film isn’t an adaptation of Year One, an origin tale for a young Batman, or any particular comic book story.

“I went on a deep dive again revisiting all my favorite comics. Those all inform by osmosis. There’s no continuation of the [Christopher] Nolan films. It’s very much trying to find a way to do this as something that for me is going to be definitively Batman and new and cool,” Reeves said. While not an origin story, The Batman is “definitively Batman,” Reeves added, and his picture tries to “tell a story that’s emotional and yet is really about him being the world’s greatest detective and all the things that for me, since I was a kid, made me love Batman.”

The Batman is expected to open in theaters on June 25, 2021.